press release format ap style pr writing samples

It takes times to write a press release effectively. After all, it is only half the battle. But once written nicely, it can add a spark your business and its sales. Now that you know how to write a press release, have its template and format, we are sure you will never get stuck when tasked with writing a press release. Even if you do, follow the tips or search for a sample press release which is easily available online. Good luck!
Thanks for this great resource. While Caribbeanpressreleases.com is a non US site and only a few years old, it is a free press release distribution site geared specifically for Caribbean businesses and audiences.
It was always great working with eReleases. They constantly run specials rewarding companies that use them often. Their staff is always great to work with, helpful and very knowledgeable. I have worked with lots of PR distribution companies and eReleases is by far my favorite.
These days, the press release services market is quite crowded, making it difficult for marketers to decide where their money is best spent. To choose the best press release company, industry veteran Sarah Skerik recommends focusing on these four questions:
“While free press release sites are tempting, I’d advise not to use them for distribution. Google has labeled many of them as spam. If you have a good news release that is worth getting out, spend the money and distribute it through a reputable site such as Business Wire, PR Newswire or Marketwired,” comments Sara Callahan, owner of Carter West Public Relations.
As standard all press releases must adhere to the following Date format, headline, summary, body text, quotes, final information and notes to editors. Please bare this in mind when viewing the templates and writing your own.
However, most press releases never accomplish that. Most press releases are just spray and pray. Nobody reads them, least of all the reporters and editors for whom they’re intended. Worst case, a badly-written press release simply makes your firm look clueless and stupid.
This paragraph is your details paragraph. It is here that you give background, stories, history, information, or stats. This is where you paint a picture and bring in all the other stuff you want people to know about your announcement.
Thanks for sharing this, Brian. This piece is a great overview and I found it very informative. I also checked out the link you provided and will read some of the ebooks with press release writing tips.
Take Catbrella Inc., a fictitious ad agency, which just gained its 10th Twitter follower after two years of paid social media efforts. To announce its achievement, Catbrella could issue a press release like the one we’ve dissected below.*
The dateline: Begin with a dateline of the city in which the press release originated and the date it was issued. This is especially important for small businesses that are distributing their press release to the local media.
Templates are easy to be customized and modify. This way you will be able to design in a format that will suit your organizational needs. You can either download press release template either in Microsoft Word format because it allows you to generate and customize your own press release.
What made this press release successful was the intersection of the exclusivity of the announcement (there were only a select few companies who were made official Shopify Plus partners in the first round, and we were one of them), the fact that it was newsworthy, and having a great partner tied into the announcement itself. The latter point was especially critical to the PR, and the notoriety of the Shopify brand really gave the release ‘legs’ in terms of how far it was distributed and the impact it made.
BOULDER, Colo., June 5, 2015, /PRNewswire/ — Startup Colorado is proud to present the fourth edition of Startup Summer. Founded in 2011, Startup Colorado is a regional initiative to increase the breadth and depth of Front Range startup communities.
General news: announce a general news item to create interest and earn exposure for the company or organization issuing the release. Example headline: “ABC Company Wins Customer Service Award Three Years in a Row.”
Also include the guest’s educational background, listing the most recent degree and where it was earned, and ending with the oldest degree. (Example: Smith holds a master’s degree in urban and environmental planning from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.; a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.; and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.)
Any free PR distribution service will NEVER yield the kind of quality publicity that paid distribution services can get you because they lack real credibility with major media news outlets. SEO marketers use these so called free non-branded PR distribution sites mainly for SEO purposes: to build backlinks, generate social media buzz, improve PageRank, attract traffic and readers, etc.
The site also includes case studies, something that can be closely tied to releases. There is no direct pricing on the site, as users must request information via a login and request form. However, if you can spare $6K to $12K on an annual single or double license subscription, then it’s the best public relations software one can ever use. The companies listed seem to run a full gambit and include many Canadian sites and businesses, making this perfect for resellers and anyone looking for international distribution.
There are still many benefits, as Daryl Willcox, chairman of DWPub, told eConsultancy. He explained that “social media pick-up” and “direct to consumer communications” function well “as part of a concerted, long-term PR or content marketing campaign.” Press releases will always have a place in certain complex industries — like finance and biomedical tech.
Like Global Newswire, Business Wire has been pushing much more heavily into the analytics side of the business. That includes a full suite of social media monitoring and media targeting tools. It also includes a photo distribution service that sends out photos to nearly 4,000 sources, as well as website services that will help companies set up a “press room” on their website.
For example, a while back I received a press release containing the following sentence: Release 6.0 doubles the level of functionality available, providing organizations of all sizes with a fast-to-deploy, highly robust, and easy-to-use solution to better acquire, retain, and serve customers.
If you want reporters to cover your news, you’ve got to know what it is that they’re covering at the moment and reach out to them directly to let them know what you’ve got going on. Acceptable methods of outreach include:
If possible, include a link to an online copy of the same release. It’s good practice to keep a log of all of your press releases housed on your own website. This can make providing such a link easier to produce, as well as keeping a record for historical purposes.
PRLog does not publish immediately, usually takes a couple days. They have published every release I’ve submitted – knock on wood -and have always sent a follow-up email notifying me that my release is live.